Because You Lack a Mind's Eye

Fingers tracing the characters carved into the wooden plaques, Qi Yuan committed all eight forging arts to memory. "Difficult. Very difficult. Exceptionally difficult." Cultivating these eight forging arts was rather arduous for Qi Yuan. Without his golden finger—the eyes that could perceive hidden information—he naturally had no straightforward way to adapt and modify these eight forging arts. Of course, even blind, his foundation as a great Purple Mansion cultivator remained intact; creating techniques from scratch was normally child's play for him. Yet these eight forging arts were different. The Great Dao was simple and profound; even Qi Yuan found it difficult to improve upon them. *It seems this blind girl's identity is extraordinary,* Qi Yuan surmised. In the Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Realm, even Yang God-level divine arts were his to modify at will, sight or no sight. "Looks like there are no shortcuts. I'll have to brute-force it." Pondering for a moment, Qi Yuan decided not to slack off and relied purely on his own talent to learn all eight forging arts the hard way. "Metal Art initiated..." "Wood Art initiated..." ... "Thunder Art initiated!" After grinding for seven shichen, Qi Yuan finally brought every single one of the eight forging arts to the initiate level. Once initiated, savoring the eight arts brought fresh insights. "These eight forging arts truly form an integrated whole. If I want to merge them, an initiate level probably won't cut it." Mastery over these eight forging arts was divided into Initiate, Proficient, Master, and Grandmaster. He would need to reach the Master level in all of them before having any confidence in fusing them. "The lifelong aspiration of the Blind Implement Master is to become a God-rank implement master, or even an Ancestral God-rank implement master, climbing ever higher—to become Zhao Gao... Ptui, ptui!" Being blind was miserable enough; Qi Yuan had no desire to lose another organ. "Further cultivation of implement crafting requires hands-on practice. Time to ask the blind girl for materials." There were plenty of materials in his spatial artifact, but God-rank materials were exceedingly rare. In implement crafting, better materials naturally yielded faster improvement. "The cave entrance to the right... seven hundred meters... is that her dwelling?" With that thought, Qi Yuan made his way toward the blind girl's living quarters. The terrain here was intricate. His current location was a cavern cut off from the sun, though every hundred meters or so, natural skylight filtered down. The cavern walls appeared speckled with sparkling firefly-like glows, wonderfully scenic. However, Qi Yuan was blind and could see none of it. "Not many people must walk this path; there's so much moss." Over the seven-hundred-meter path, Qi Yuan walked cautiously. Finally, he stopped and called out softly, "Blind girl, are you there?" After a few breaths, a languid voice came back: "I am." Though Qi Yuan could not see, he could almost picture a graceful woman reclining across a couch, brows and eyes half-open as though she had yet to fully wake. Rustling sounds drifted over, followed by the faint splashing of water. Qi Yuan heard footsteps stepping on grass. "Have you decided which forging art to study?" the blind girl asked. "I've decided, and I've already reached the initiate level," Qi Yuan said. "It's too difficult. I've never learned any technique this slowly before." Qi Yuan was speaking the honest truth. When he was not blind, no matter how hard a technique was, he could quickly adapt it, gain an entry grasp, and advance rapidly. This time, he couldn't rely on his eyes and had to depend purely on raw talent. For Qi Yuan, that was difficult! A flash of sly smugness flickered across the blind girl's aloof face. "Your speed is nearly comparable to Sheng Nü's. Which one did you pick?" "I chose all eight. After training hard through the night, I've finally reached the initiate level in all of them," Qi Yuan said. "All eight??" "Yes." Qi Yuan nodded. The blind girl fell silent for a few breaths before saying, "It seems you work very hard." Then she asked, "How long was I asleep?" Living in the Divine Wood Deep Abyss, the blind girl's routine remained strictly between two points. Either sleeping in her bedchamber or sitting on the swing, taking in the cool breeze. The Divine Wood Deep Abyss was vast, but she never wandered around aimlessly. Her memory was poor; she was constantly forgetting things. Even a path she was familiar with might be forgotten one day. Thus, she simply chose not to take in anything new. Now that Qi Yuan had initiated all eight forging arts, she assumed she had fallen into another long, muddled slumber as she usually did. "One night," Qi Yuan answered truthfully. "Oh... It's morning then. Time to eat." With that, the sound of her footsteps receded as she walked into the room. Several tens of breaths later, she emerged carrying a wooden basket. Inside the basket were some fruits and a wooden cup. "Have some breakfast." She handed it to Qi Yuan. Qi Yuan picked up a fruit and took a bite; it was crisp, fragrant, and sweet. It was his first time eating this kind of fruit, and it tasted surprisingly good. Pity he was blind; otherwise, he would have checked what fruit it was and planted a tree himself. "The materials are here. Take them for your forging." The blind girl handed over another wooden basket. "Thank you. I'll head back to forge." There was little conversation between them. Qi Yuan carried the materials back. Listening to Qi Yuan's retreating footsteps, the blind girl's expression was as cool and distant as the moon. She stood still for a long while before walking outside. Following her usual two-point routine, she walked toward the swing. The swing that Qi Yuan had smashed into was now completely restored, just as it had been before. Used to such things, the blind girl sat down upon it. A gentle breeze stirred, fluttering the hem of her skirt; her bare feet felt cool and chilly. A look of solitude drifted across her fair, exquisite countenance. She could not recall how many times she had sat on this swing; sometimes a single sitting lasted centuries. "Can I... ever have eyes?" Suddenly, she clutched her eyes, a look of agony surfacing on her face. "I... won't take his eyes!" "Never!" ... Time slipped away. *Boom!* An explosion erupted, leaving Qi Yuan disheveled and covered in soot. "Failed again. Are divine artifacts... really this hard to forge?" He had been crafting implements non-stop during this period. The Blind Implement Master possessed immense talent, and combined with Qi Yuan's own innate ability, advancing to the God rank should not have been difficult. Yet he had underestimated the handicap blindness posed to implement crafting. Even though he was a God-rank weapon wielder and being blind did not affect everyday actions like walking or eating, forging was technical work. To make an analogy, even blind as he was now, performing delicate surgeries on Blue Star patients would have been a breeze for him. Forging, however—especially forging divine artifacts—was an infinitely more meticulous and complex endeavor. His current situation was akin to a blind surgeon trying to operate on a patient. "Failed?" A crisp voice called out, and a slender figure stood not far away. "Yeah, failed," Qi Yuan said, spreading his hands. "Without eyes, forging is just too difficult." This role-play was exceptionally tough. Qi Yuan still needed to cultivate diligently. In this game, his goal was to become a Yin God. As a Yin God, he naturally needed to master rules, know all things, and open up heaven and earth. *Hmm... sounds somewhat similar to the third tier of the Yang God realm.* *Still, if anything, the third tier of the Yang God realm plagiarized Qi Yuan!* After all, he had mapped out his path to becoming a Yin God long before he ever heard the names of the tiers within the Yang God realm. At the bare minimum... he had to be a god of creation. To create a world, one must know all things. The Blind Implement Master was also a link within all things. "Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body are humanity's five roots. Lose one, and the five roots are incomplete; lose all five, and you lose everything," the blind girl said faintly. She gave off the fragrance of distinctive flower petals—subtle, tranquil, and never cloying—refreshingly pleasant to the senses. "If I lose all five, wouldn't I just turn into a rock?" Qi Yuan remarked casually. "You are missing one thing. Otherwise, even without eyes, you could still forge." "What am I missing?" "You lack a mind's eye." "Huh?" Qi Yuan was taken aback. *Is that any way to insult someone?* *Does she really take me for some gentle, law-abiding gentleman?* *Keep talking like that, and it'll be 'Madam, don't turn around—I'm actually your husband!'* *After all, between two blind people, if something happens without a sound, who would know who is who?* Of course, Qi Yuan was merely letting his thoughts run wild. Even though she said he lacked a mind's eye, he was not so petty, nor would he degrade himself or harm another over words. This "mind's eye" she spoke of probably differed from the slang meaning he had in mind and was likely similar to a celestial eye. "Look at the world with your heart and perceive it. You will find that this world... may not be the same as what your eyes behold. "Your eyes might deceive you, but your heart never will," the blind girl said. "My eyes never deceive me," Qi Yuan replied lazily. As he spoke, he maintained his distance from the blind girl. The scent on her was intoxicating, making him want to inhale a few more breaths. Best keep his distance; she was a married woman, another man's wife. A solitary man and woman—if things got out of hand, it would be far too unethical. "Do you want to awaken your mind's eye?" the blind girl asked. "I already have wits... but I suppose I can try awakening it. How do I do it?" Qi Yuan asked. Now that his forging had hit a bottleneck, he needed to find another path. "Follow me." With that, the blind girl stepped lightly toward the outside. She rarely visited the cavern Qi Yuan occupied. Even when she did, her muddled memory meant she would often forget, leaving her unfamiliar with it. Roughly two quarters of an hour later, the blind girl halted. "Look up at the sky." Qi Yuan raised his head and looked toward the heavens. In the expanse of black and red that filled his vision, a faint speck of illumination seemed to emerge. Like a glowing grain of rice. "That is the exit of the Divine Wood Deep Abyss. Leaving through there, you will reach the Divine Wood Abyss. "If you observe this spot day after day, with some luck, you might awaken your mind's eye in a few centuries." "Right, then I'll strive to gain an extra mind's eye," Qi Yuan replied. "I'll live here from now on," Qi Yuan decided. He would forge right in this spot. Watching the exit in the sky day and night, he would see when he could awaken his mind's eye. As days went by, all eight of Qi Yuan's forging arts advanced to the Proficient level. However, regarding the awakening of the mind's eye, his progress remained slow. *It's too far away; I can't see that grain-sized light clearly at all. Should I build a ladder and climb up?* Qi Yuan pondered inwardly. He figured being so far away made comprehending the mind's eye agonizingly slow. What if he built a ladder? Not only could he comprehend the mind's eye, but he could also construct a path to leave the Divine Wood Deep Abyss and head to the Divine Wood Abyss. He couldn't stay in the Divine Wood Deep Abyss forever, could he? ... A palace built of white jade and glazed tile lay hidden amidst clouds and mist. "Fengti." An ethereal voice drifted forth. A man clad in phoenix robes appeared. Handsome of face and aloof in demeanor, he bore a sword across his back. "Greetings, Ruoxi the Mythological." Fengti bowed in greeting, his expression still indifferent. "The Mandate of Heaven has resurfaced in the Qingshan Realm. Go quickly and slay it," Ruoxi the Mythological commanded. "Understood." "Take nine lives with you," Ruoxi the Mythological instructed further. A flicker of pride rose in Fengti's eyes. "My archetype is the Yin God Fengyuan, ranked among the top three in the Five Steps of Sky Treading in the current epoch. Against a mere Mandate bearer, why would I need nine lives? One is more than enough!" He was a living being created from the archetype of Fengyuan. Across the universe in the current epoch, his combat strength ranked in the top three among all Yin Gods of the Five Steps of Sky Treading. He had his own pride. Even if he encountered a Mythological, he was capable of escaping. "The Renqi Society is watching the Qingshan Realm. There may even be an Ancestral God. Take more lives with you; this mission must succeed," Ruoxi the Mythological said with firm resolve. "Very well." Fengti did not refuse again. Ancestral Gods were Yang Gods, and the gap between a Yang God and a Yin God was vast. Even if his archetype was top three in combat power among the Five Steps of Sky Treading in the current epoch, he stood no chance against a Yang God. "By the way, Divine Descent, created by Sheng Nü... has revived once more. Its combat prowess is quite intriguing—it slaughtered the Seven Gods single-handedly. "He currently goes by the name Qi Yuan and should be in the Divine Wood Abyss. Dispose of him as well." "It is still alive?" Surprise flickered in Fengti's eyes. "It seems his luck has been good. But with this venerable one acting in person this time, his luck has likely run out." He had long known of the Mandate bearer known as Divine Descent. Originally, he had intended to shatter Divine Descent with a single sword strike. However, back then, relations between the Radiant Society and the Renqi Society were in a 'honeymoon phase.' Unable to intervene directly, he had schemed using the dark light spirit. He hadn't expected the other party to still be alive. "Go, make haste. There are Mandate bearers in other worlds that require your execution as well," Ruoxi the Mythological said. In this embryonic universe, the Radiant Society possessed great power, but the Renqi Society was no weakling either. Moreover, the universe backing the Radiant Society would not continuously invest resources into it. They had to be frugal. "Understood." Hesitating no longer, Fengti vanished from the white jade and glazed tile palace. In the vast palace, Ruoxi the Mythological remained alone. "A pity. The Tianyuan of this realm failed to draw the gaze of a god and evolve into a fragment of the curious treasure of light. "Those three hundred thousand implement masters... died in vain." Ruoxi the Mythological sighed with emotion. His father was a being of the Yaoguang Universe, while his mother hailed from this embryonic universe. Though the philosophies of the Radiant Society and the Renqi Society clashed, both sought to protect this universe and prevent the embryonic universe from being devoured by Heitian. Over the tragic deaths of the three hundred thousand implement masters in the Qingshan Realm failing to yield even a single fragment of the curious treasure of light, he felt both disappointment and sorrow. "It is understandable. Shards of the curious treasure of light... how could they be so easily forged?" Worlds like the Qingshan Realm were numerous; in many worlds occupied by the Radiant Society, shards of the curious treasure of light were being secretly forged. Alas, among those who achieved God-Kindled Light, not one in a hundred succeeded. As for the Mankind-Kindled Light pursued by the Renqi Society, the odds were even lower. Ruoxi the Mythological had witnessed far too many instances of hundreds of thousands of implement masters dying in obscurity. Meanwhile, in the Divine Wood Abyss. Insect Maiden Caidie fluttered her wings, curiosity painted across her face. "Did you hear that? It sounds like there's noise beneath us." Shen Lingxuan soaked in the hot spring, wrapped only in a chest wrap. Even though Insect Maiden Caidie was also female, Shen Lingxuan still felt somewhat self-conscious. Her eyes half-closed, she listened downward. "Indeed... there is a sound." "Strange. Aside from the two of us, there are no other living beings in the Divine Wood Abyss. How could there be noise?" Insect Maiden Caidie pondered, her brows furrowing. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Could it be sounds coming from the Divine Wood Deep Abyss?!" The entrance to the Divine Wood Deep Abyss was mysterious; she had searched for ages without finding it. Could it possibly be beneath this hot spring?